The undefeated Oakville Senior High School softball team will face Seckman Wednesday in the Class 3 State Sectional.
Oakville (27-0, 8-0 Suburban West) shut out Northwest 10-0 Friday and defeated Lindbergh 10-2 Saturday to capture the Class 4, District 2 championship.
After winning six of their last seven games to finish the regular season, the Flyers knew that to win their district they would have to face Oakville, the hottest team in the state.
Lindbergh’s run at the end of the season included wins over defending state champion Rockwood Summit and Eureka while the Tigers were riding a 26-game winning streak that included 17 shutouts.
When the two teams met Saturday, it was a five-run outburst in the fourth inning that helped propel Oakville to victory and the district title.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for coach Scott because he always has his teams ready for the postseason,” Oakville head coach Rich Sturm said of Lindbergh head coach Darin Scott. “We knew that they were going to give us everything they had.”
The loss for Lindbergh (17-10, 4-3 Suburban West) was a tough one for the Flyers to take after coming into the playoffs with a hot streak of their own.
“We had a young team going into the season and I couldn’t be more proud of this team than I am right now,” Scott said. “We reached our goal of getting to the district championship game and obviously we ran up against a hot Oakville team.”
Lindbergh starting pitcher Katie McCune gave up 10 runs on 13 hits in six innings as the senior hurler finished the season with a 12-7 record and a 1.78 earned-run average. McCune also drove in one of the Flyers’ two runs with a double in the loss.
“Katie was one of the main reasons we won 17 games,” Scott said. “She pitched the ball really well down the stretch and that district championship game is not indicative of her performance this season.”
Oakville senior starting pitcher Megan Schallom notched her 19th win of the season, giving up just two runs on eight hits in seven innings. Schallom also struck out eight while walking two en route to a 19-0 record with a 0.58 earned-run average.
“Lindbergh came out swinging the bats well and Megan really bared down and made the right pitches when she had to,” Sturm said. “Overall it was just a great performance by her.”
Chelsea Schaffer scored one of Lindbergh’s two runs and drove in the other as she recorded a double, a walk and two strikeouts. The senior shortstop finished the season with a .439 batting average and 20 runs batted in. Schaffer also recorded a team-leading four home runs, four triples and nine doubles.
“Chelsea was our most feared hitter and we went as she went,” Scott said. “She had a great season and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Senior first baseman Nicole Norberg produced a three-hit performance for Oakville, recording two runs scored and two runs batted in. Norberg is holding down a .354 batting average with 17 runs batted in.
“Nikki’s a steady player that showed up in a big game for us,” Sturm said. “You’ll not find a better first baseman anywhere and she’s such a quiet leader that goes about her business in the right way. I was so happy that she had a great game on such a big stage.”
The Tigers now will face Seckman (21-7, 5-1 Suburban South), which is coming off a 2-1 win at Jackson.
At press time, Wednesday’s game was scheduled to be played in Jackson.
